November 2024
October was a VERY busy month. November promises to be only slightly quieter.
Romance Writers of America
I made last minute plans to attend the RWA national conference in Austin, Texas, Oct 11-13. A couple hurricanes played havoc with my power. (I lost power for 11 hours in Helene, and 48 hours in Milton.) Milton screwed up my plane flight (airport was closed until 5 hours after my original flight time), so I had to get shifted to another flight. But I did manage to get to Austin on the first day of the conference. Missed a couple meet and greets, but got a bagged lunch and sat in on the afternoon seminars. Through Sunday noon I attended seminars covering many things: from the legal, business, and marketing aspects of being an author, to workshops about the craft of writing, editing, and preparing manuscripts for publication as ebooks or print books.
My favorites were one about the legal aspects of being a business which talked a lot about how to “diversify” a book’s formats to increase its reach (talking about film, play, television rights, as well as how to protect your copyright), and one about turning good writing into great storytelling with nuanced attention to language and structure.
Orlando’s Come Out With Pride
My local community’s Pride event also takes place in October, and I’ve had a booth several times. An author friend, Jayme Bean, with whom I shared a booth in 2023 has since started an LGBTQ+ bookstore, Lavender Books. Rather than have my own booth, I helped with her booth and provided some of my books for her to sell on consignment.
While autographing books, I was also able to talk with people who are eagerly craving a physical space to find and talk about queer books. Lavender Books sold out of many of the titles brought to the festival. These books were in many genres and filled with characters across the LGBTQ spectrum. Being October I think is why the most popular titles were in speculative fiction genres: horror, suspense, paranormal. Fantasy and Contemporary were next most popular. Buyers bought books for all age groups, from first readers, to middle grade readers and teens, on up to adults. It was exciting to see so many readers. The festival had over 250,000 through the entry points. Something like 300-400 people stopped into the booth. About half that many bought books.
Currently online only, Lavender Books is looking for a location to rent and hopes to have one by the end of the year or the first of next year. You can join their mailing list, and also shop for books online and have them shipped to you.
Caron and the Huntress rewriting
This story is now in the revision stage. Since I start with a blank file for this part, I move over and revise scenes. I also have written a few new ones when I realized there’s a hole. So, draft 2 just crossed 40k during last week’s sprints.
I try to take my own self-editing advice when I do this. I think (hope) the scenes I’ve gone through now have more tension, more emotional depth, and more sensory descriptions.
I did most carefully revise and submit my first 30 pages to a contest. I’m less concerned about “winning” and more interested in the feedback that is given to all entrants.
I did spend one sprint day applying tips on using Canva (RWA conference seminar) to put together a concept cover (and blurb).
Tell me what you think?
Here’s another short excerpt (find me reading it over here). I’d love to hear what you think. Some of Jace’s voice this time, I think:
Bouncing with excitement, Jace bounded out of the school building at the head of his group of friends. They raced for the school’s soccer field while others ran to the basketball court and the playground.
Today was tryouts for the team!
"Wait! We need a ball!" Monty gestured to the equipment bucket where a soccer ball could be seen atop the basketballs.
A coach was passing out the basketballs and soccer balls - two of them - rolled to the grass.
Could he? Would anyone remember he hadn't carried one?
While he was debating, Alfie had already run half the distance back to fetch a ball. So, Jace set aside the idea of using his magic.
When they started kicking the ball back and forth, Jace considered his skills and those of his friends. Monty was almost certainly going to make the school team. He'd been a forward in the county club for two years already. Jace wondered if his mom could get him new kicks like Monty's, the ones with the swoosh, to replace his worn tennis shoes. He'd ask for team colors, green and black.
Trapping the ball when it came to him, Jace dribbled and feinted around Alfie, who still reached out with his hands like the Pee Wee football player he'd been for two years. Maybe Alfie could be goalie. They could use their hands.
“Go, go!” encouraged Doobie, real name Doug Boyd Jr.
Jace got around Alfie and passed the ball toward Keke. There weren’t enough girls who wanted to play soccer to form a girls’ team, so this school’s team was co-ed. Long-legged, with tight black braids that flew around her head like ropes, she ran directly at him. Distracted by the excited smile on her face, he lost the ball to her faster footwork.
He only realized it, though, when he heard Monty yelp, “Man! Not again!”
When he turned around, Keke was already several yards away dribbling the ball. Jace sighed and ran after her to steal it back.
“Hey!” he shouted and threw out his leg to kick at the ball.
It jumped away from Keke’s feet and rolled toward Alfie who had come to help.
But it hadn’t bounced off Jace’s foot.
“Oh no,” he muttered. Rolling over in the grass, he pushed to his feet and looked around. No one was looking at him. Alfie had the ball and he was trying to get around Keke with it.
Tell me what you think in the comments.
~ Lara
PS - I did want to let you know about a sale. My books We Three and We Fit are on sale for their book anniversary this weekend (We Fit was first released November 1, 2022).
October reads
What I was reading in October…
Star Trek: Picard Firewall. David Mack. This ST:P tie-in novel is about Seven of Nine. I devoured it in four days, reading every time I could get away from my work. Those who’ve followed me for a while know I’m a fan of the ex-Borg member severed from the Borg Collective by the USS Voyager. Over the Picard series three seasons, we learned she was rejected by the Federation and Starfleet, became part of the Fenris Rangers, served as first officer on the USS Titan, and is now Captain of the USS Enterprise-G. This novel is a “frame” story; Seven tells the story of how she became a Fenris Ranger to someone in a Freecloud bar. Seven is canonically queer and the author did a beautiful job showing that journey as she falls in love with another Ranger. Seven, in general, is going through, adrift as she is without her Voyager “family”. Janeway cameos and the two are friends.
I am currently reading The Duet. Harper Bliss, and quite enjoying the lighter fare of a pair of bands going on tour together. There’s age gap (20+ years) as the younger frontwoman for “The Other Women” and the older frontwoman for “The Lady Kings” fall for one another while paired together singing a song called “I Should Have Kissed You” as they travel the U.S. on The Lady Kings comeback tour.
I’ll catch up with you again in December!